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N E W S W O R T H Y

From the TeamThis year we’ve talked about candidateassessments (February) and about helpingemployees plan a career path within your company(May). In this newsletter, we’re stepping back toaddress a more fundamental question. What arethe characteristics and traits you should look forwhen hiring talent? The answer is anything butsimple. Proponents of looking at an individual’s strengthsand potential will argue that companies must planfor the long game. But we’ve seen the statisticsabout retaining Millennials and don’t believe atalent-based hiring philosophy alone is the bestapproach. (CNN.Money says four job changes bythe age of 32 is the new normal.) Screening forcredentials and experience ensures that anindividual has proven performance and theappropriate degree. But will that education andprior experience transfer to a new role in a neworganization? Another option is competency-based hiring, whichevaluates an individual’s ability to perform thespecific requirements of a given job and alsoconsiders fit to the company culture as well as hisor her knowledge. Many Fortune 500 companies,like Coca-Cola, Disney, Johnson & Johnson, andAmerican Express use this approach. It’s also themodel we use to evaluate and recommend topcandidates once we’ve screened their credentialsto determine a possible fit. Does it work? Our clientssay “yes.” We’ll tell you why we do what we do andshare some how-to insights. Do you use one or some combination of all ofthese models? We’d love to hear what works foryour company. And as always, we’re happy toanswer questions or brainstorm solutions with you.Just give us a call!

The Welsh & Associates Team

AUGUST 2016

Why we use competency-based interviewingBy Sheri Welsh

I’m a natural networker. The Gallup StrengthsFinder tells me that Woo (winning others over) isin my top five strengths — and so is Relator. Thetwo combined have given me an incredible edgein developing and maintaining my network. Butlet’s assume I am applying for a job at yourcompany. Knowing I’ve got Woo doesn’t tell youwhether I’d be a good fit for the position or yourorganization. Whether or not I’d be a good hire depends onthe job I’m applying for and what I’ll do in that role.It depends on what it’s like to work at your companyand whether my attitude and the knowledge Ibring to the table are a good match. At Welsh& Associates, we believe assessing a candidate’sfit is best achieved with a behavioral-styleinterviewing process commonly calledcompetency-based hiring. This approach askscandidates to answer questions about their pastwork in a way that screens for the qualitiesconsidered essential for success in a given jobat a particular organization.

Why talent alone isn’t enoughUnderstanding an employee’s core strengths isalways helpful. A strong learner is likely to beeager to develop new skills and gain a deeperknowledge of your organization. But that doesn’t

guarantee that he or she will have the basic skillsto succeed at the start, if ever. Let’s take a basketball player, for example. Ifyou’ve made three-point shots at a rate of 33%throughout your career, you’re likely to continuemaking three-point shots at that rate even on anew team. If you’ve never made three-point shots,but you’re an awesome center, and you makeamazing dunks, and we think you have themechanics to develop into a three-point-shot star,well you might. But we know that won’t happenright away. And it’s possible it will never happen.If we really need a three-point shot maker on ourbench, we should look elsewhere. Like basketball, there are certain indispensablecompetencies that you must have to succeed athuman resources, engineering, accounting,finance, and in any specialized profession. Wethink these must form the basis of any good hiringdecision. It’s hard to make a hiring mistake ifyou’re using a competency-based approach.There’s just no better predictor of future successthan past performance.

What is a competency-basedHR model?

Harvard University psychologist David McClellandintroduced the idea of measuring workforcecompetencies to predict hiring success in the early1970s. He focused on identifying and measuringindividual qualities rather than technical skills.

Experts agree that skills arethe most trainable quality anemployee can have. Today, competency-based modelshave been applied to all aspects of humanresource management, from recruitment toemployee development, training, and promotion.The approach begins with the creation of aframework or catalog of the knowledge, skills,traits and behaviors workers use to do each job. Used for hiring, a candidate’s past experiencesare the starting point. They indicate whether ornot they’ve exhibited the skills necessary for aparticular job. A competency-based interviewingprocess draws out information about how thecandidate might apply that experience to futurechallenges. Companies who use competency-based modelscite positive outcomes:• The model reduces subjectivity because job requirements are defined and standardized and employees are assessed against that framework.• It provides a clearer idea of skills people need — or need to develop — to perform their job.• When employees know what skills are needed to move up, it provides a standardized blueprint across the organization.• This blueprint enables self-development among employees.• It ties learning and other HR processes together.• It’s applicable company-wide, across global divisions.

Competency models allow leaders to implement a systematic approach toall facets of talent management.

— The Case for Competency, Jim Graber, Talent Management Magazine, Nov. 2015

THE COMPETENCY-BASEDINTERVIEW

www.WelshandAssociates.net

Work standardsLeadershipRisk takingIntegrityPlanning/organizationAdaptabilityProblem solvingReliability

Top 4 competencies to look for

According to a 2012 study by Leadership IQ, fewer thanone-in-five employees achieve unequivocal success ina new job. More disheartening, nearly half fail within 18months. The reason — based on this research — israrely technical aptitude. And most managers admittedmissing trouble signs during the interview. Not only isit helpful to develop a competency model, but managersmust be good at interviewing this way. Here are the topreasons for new-hire failure, according to the study.Look for these competencies to increase your chancesof a successful hire.

1. Coachability – 26% couldn’t handle feedback2. Emotional Intelligence – 23% lacked the ability to understand their emotions or the emotions of others3. Motivation – 17% lacked motivation4. Temperament – 15% weren’t suited to the job or the work environment

How to develop a competency-based interview process

CPS HR Consulting in Sacramento, California saysthere are four basic steps to developing a competency-based or behavioral style of interviewing for new hires.Although CPS focuses on public-sector hiring, theirwebsite offers tools and templates you can downloadand adapt to your organization’s specific needs.

1. Identifying which job competencies to focus on during interviews.2. Developing and asking the right interview questions.3. Scheduling and managing interviews.4. Scoring and evaluating behavioral interviews.

You can often find question banks online as well. Searchonline by industry or job title and include keywords like “question bank,” “behavioral interview questions” and“competency-based hiring.”

Common competencies you canmeasure and assess when hiring.

Communication Organization Emotional intelligence Decision-making Motivation Temperament Creativity and innovation Coachability

Screening for experience andcredentials

Recruiting based on education and experience offersa baseline from which to develop a more nuancedrecruiting strategy. Make sure that experience will transferto a new role in a new organization. And don’t alwaysoverlook failures. As author Malcolm Gladwell advises,“People who have failed have learned lessons that willmake them more successful in the future.” Applyingcompetency-based interviewing techniques can uncoverwhat those lessons entail.